--U.S. regulators say eight payment and clearing firms could pose risk to the economy if they fail

--The designation subjects them to heightened regulatory scrutiny

--Financial market utilities include options and derivatives clearinghouses

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   By Jeffrey Sparshott and Alan Zibel

WASHINGTON--U.S. regulators named eight payment and clearing firms as systemically important, a designation that says their failure could jolt the U.S. economy and thus subjects them to enhanced government oversight.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a group of top financial regulators created by the Dodd-Frank financial law, named the trading and clearinghouse firms after a review that began earlier this year, marking the first time a company other than a bank has been subjected to higher risk-management standards set up in the wake of the financial crisis.

The eight firms consist of payment systems, derivatives clearinghouses and settlement systems and other entities that make up the plumbing of the financial system.

The firms will now be subject to tighter regulations developed by the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. They are: Clearing House Payments Co. LLC, CLS Bank International, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., The Depository Trust Co., Fixed Income Clearing Corp., ICE Clear Credit LLC, National Securities Clearing Corp. and The Options Clearing Corp.

The oversight council said failure of one of the firms could reverberate through the financial system. For example a disruption to Clearing House could affect the flow of money at 22 global financial firms. Problems at the CME, meanwhile, could cause livestock producers to "abandon production entirely," the council said.

"We expected to be designated. We will be compliant with additional requirements when they go into effect," said CME spokeswoman Laurie Bischel. Chip Savidge, a spokesman from the Clearing House Payments, said, "We are confident that we are meeting all of the relevant standards." Gerard Hartsink, interim executive chairman at CLS, said, "We take this responsibility very seriously."

ICE, Options Clearing and Depository Trust also said the designation was expected. Fixed Income Clearing and National Securities Clearing are part of Depository Trust.

The significantly important designation is a central plank in the Dodd-Frank law's effort to end bailouts of "too big to fail" companies.

As a result of the new designation, "these critical market infrastructure entities will be subject to heightened risk-management standards," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at the council meeting. The firms also could gain new access to some of the Federal Reserve's loans in a time of crisis. Mr. Geithner also ran through a list of "unfinished business" from the financial crisis, including a money-market fund rule overhaul and a fix for the "broken" housing finance system.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, speaking at the meeting, said she remains concerned that money market funds remain vulnerable to a financial panic. Ms. Schapiro is pushing her divided agency toward a vote on tougher rules for the $2.5 trillion industry as early as this summer. But she has struggled to convince a majority of the five-member commission to back a plan.

"I'm very supportive of the efforts that the SEC is undertaking. I hope you are able to put out a rule," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said at the meeting.

--Andrew Ackerman, Jamila Trindle and Jessica Holzer contributed to this article.

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